Authorities said Perez Arriaga, who was in the country illegally and had previous arrests, was captured while planning to flee to Mexico.

This booking photo provided by the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department shows Gustavo Perez Arriaga. Perez Arriaga, suspected of gunning down a California policeman, was in the U.S. illegally and was captured while planning to flee to his native Mexico, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson announced, Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, as he all but blamed the state's sanctuary law for the officer's death. (Courtesy of Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department via AP)

U.S. immigration authorities say they had no contact with Perez Arriaga until he was arrested last week.

Singh was a 33-year-old husband and father of a 5-month-old boy.

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U.S. immigration authorities confirmed they had no contact with a Mexican national suspected of killing a California police officer until the man was arrested last week.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement emailed a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday saying it had placed its first immigration detainer on suspect Gustavo Perez Arriaga after the Dec. 26 killing.

Perez Arriaga, who was in the country illegally and had previous arrests, was taken into custody Friday on suspicion of killing Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh.

The officer's death has rekindled a national debate over California sanctuary policies. President Trump seized on the case in a call for tougher border security.